Alt-rock mainstays Weezer will kick off their next tour Sept. 4 at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders have access to a presale that runs from 9 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday. Neither the promoter nor the venue announced prices. Fellow Gen-X nostalgia acts the Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr. open.

The Los Angeles foursome has been busy as of late. Over the past decade, they’ve released seven albums dabbling in any number of styles, including ’80s pop (the 2019 “Teal Album” covers collection) and hairspray metal (2021’s “Van Weezer”). In 2022, the group issued four seven-song, seasonally themed mini albums (each with a bonus track on vinyl) on the first astronomical day of each relevant season.

Despite all of that activity, the upcoming tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut (known as the “Blue Album”). Produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars, it launched a trio of power-pop hits in “Undone — The Sweater Song,” “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So.” They’ll be playing the album in full along with a selection of other songs drawn from throughout their career.

In a radio interview Monday with Audacy, band leader Rivers Cuomo talked about Weezer’s early days of playing Los Angeles clubs with grunge bands while trying to break into the business. “We didn’t get much of a buzz or a following,” he said. “It wasn’t until they started playing our first single, ‘The Sweater Song,’ on the radio — that’s when kids heard our music. Until then, we were playing for 21 and up people in the clubs and they were still doing the grunge thing. It wasn’t until we hit, got on the radio, that we really found our audience.”

“I feel like it’s still happening, because there’s still like 10-year-olds who are discovering the ‘Blue Album,’ like really relating to it. There’s something about 23-year-old me that is very similar to a 10-year-old mentality.”

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Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced Monday that he’s battling prostate cancer.

In a post on his Instagram page, the former Chicago Cubs great shared that he learned last week of his metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis, adding that he already has begun treatment.

“We will continue to be positive, strong and fight to beat this,” Sandberg wrote in his post. “Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time for me and my family.”

A bronze statue of Sandberg, 64, will be unveiled in Gallagher Way outside Wrigley Field on June 23, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of his legendary “Sandberg Game” against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Wrigleyville company Obvious Shirts is planning to create a T-shirt in honor of Sandberg’s cancer fight with 100% of sales donated to a charity of Sandberg’s choice, which is still being finalized.

A winner of nine Gold Glove and seven Silver Slugger awards as well as the 1984 National League MVP award, Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and had his No. 23 retired by the Cubs the same year.

He spent four seasons (2007-10) managing in the Cubs farm system before departing the organization and joining the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him in the 20th round in 1978, to manage their Triple-A affiliate in 2011. After a promotion to the big-league coaching staff in 2012, Sandberg took over as the Phillies interim manager in August 2013 and one month later had the interim title removed.

It took the Vikings roughly 45 minutes to make a splash on Monday with the legal tampering period in full swing. They agreed to terms with edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, then soon after agreed to terms with another edge rusher, Andrew Van Ginkel.

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 17: Andrew Van Ginkel #43 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates a second quarter sack against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

A source confirmed both agreements to the Pioneer Press.

According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Greenard will sign a four-year, $76-million deal with $42 million guaranteed, while Van Ginkel is on a two-year, $20-million deal with $14 million guaranteed. The signings can become official on Wednesday when NFL free agency opens up.

Notably, the commitments to Greenard and Van Ginkel likely means that star edge rusher Danielle Hunter will be headed elsewhere.

If this is indeed the end of Hunter’s time with the Vikings, he finished his tenure with 87 1/2 sacks, 108 tackles for a loss and 134 quarterback hits since being selected in the third round of the 2015 draft. He learned the ropes from former star defensive end Everson Griffen, then teamed up with him to create a dynamic duo that made life miserable on opposing quarterbacks.

Whichever team ends up signing Hunter will be getting a force to be reckoned with who is still very much in his prime. He posted a career-high 16 1/2 sacks for the Vikings last season, proving he’s still among the best in the NFL at what he does. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hunter get a deal that pays him upwards of $25 million annually.

As much as the Vikings would love to keep Hunter around long term, they should be in pretty good hands with Greenard and Van Ginkel as the primary pass rushers.

Though he might not be a known name quite yet, Greenard, 26, is in the process of becoming just that after producing 12 1/2 sacks with the Houston Texans last season.  Originally selected in the third round of the 2020 draft, Greenard worked his way from a rotational player into an unquestioned starter. In a total of 48 games for his career, Greenard has 23 sacks, 32 tackles for a loss and 41 quarterback hits.

Van Ginkel, 28, has been productive in a situation role with the Miami Dolphins throughout his career. In 73 career games, Van Ginkel has 17 sacks, 31 tackles for a loss and 57 quarterback hits. He hails from Rock Valley, Iowa, and played a couple of seasons at Wisconsin before being selected in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.

The fact that the Vikings prioritized Greenard and Van Ginkel so early in the legal tampering period suggests that they are fully invested in giving defensive coordinator Brian Flores more to work with next season.

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Is this the end of the Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota? We’ll find out soon.

The Wild are eager to see what their new center can do for the playoff push, and coach John Hynes said Monday that Marat Khusnutdinov will likely make his Minnesota debut this week — possibly as early as Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes at Xcel Energy Center.

“Whether or not that’s tomorrow, we’re going to talk with him again this afternoon, get him a full morning skate tomorrow,” Hynes told reporters after an optional practice Monday at TRIA Rink. “If he doesn’t play tomorrow, we probably would have him come in, go through the meetings, warmup — similar to what we did with Chisholm.

The Wild picked Declan Chisholm off waivers from Winnipeg on Jan. 29, and he didn’t play his first game for the Wild until Feb. 17. Part of that was because of the all-star break, and part because Chisholm had played in only eight games, two in the NHL, all season.

That’s not an issue for Khusnutdinov, 21, who just finish his fourth KHL season in Russia, recording six goals and 20 points in 55 games between SKA St. Petersburg and HK Sochi. A second-round pick in the 2020 entry draft, Khusnutdinov signed a two-year, two-way entry level contract on Feb. 29 and arrived in Minnesota on Saturday.

The rookie already has connected with fellow Russian Kirill Kaprizov, and the two have been hanging out together — although the eight-hour time difference between St. Paul and Moscow has been an issue.

“They were supposed to go to dinner and Marat slept through it. They didn’t get to dinner,” Hynes said. “That’s why there’s more to it. We want to see him play, and he’s going to get an opportunity. But he’s been through a lot.”

The Wild are host to Arizona on Tuesday and Anaheim on Thursday, then play Saturday at St. Louis as they continue a last desperate push to earn one of the two Western Conference wild-card playoff spots.

“He looks good on the ice; we just want to make sure we communicate with him and give him the right opportunity to come in, whether it’s tomorrow or Thursday or Saturday,” Hynes said. “It will be one of those games, for sure.”

The Wild have moved back into ninth place in the West, six points behind Vegas for the eighth and final playoff spot with 17 regular-season games remaining. The Wild think Khusnutdinov can help.

Khusnutdinov was at Xcel Energy Center for Sunday afternoon’s victory over Nashville. Asked for his first impression of the NHL, he told reporters, “Speed. Smart guys. Physical guys.”

As for how he would fit in, he said through an interpreter, “I can’t say I think it’s going to be easy, but I think it’s my legs and my head that will help me make it in this league.”

Risk, reward

So desperate are the Wild for points, Hynes pulled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in overtime for a 4-on-3 advantage against Nashville on Sunday, and it quickly paid off in a 4-3 victory.

What a lot of fans, and some players, didn’t know was that under NHL rules, the Wild would have lost their OT point had they lost — the risk of pulling their goalie for a reason other than a delayed penalty.

“You don’t want to lose a point, obviously, but you also have to understand the situation that you’re in and try to give our team every chance to fight down the stretch,” Hynes said Monday.

“I know some of the players don’t know (the rule), but maybe if they know, they don’t feel as comfortable.”

Injury update

Marcus Johansson, who has missed the past three games because of a lower-body injury, participated in practice Monday.

“Johansson was good,” Hynes said. “I don’t have any feedback for you whether he’s going to play or not tomorrow, but we did progress from skating, and things like that, to some contact, and gave him a good push today.”

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